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1940s

This device produced a tremolo by passing an instrument’s electrical signal through a water-based electrolytic fluid.

1950s

In the 1950s most guitar amplifiers came with built in effects such as tremolo, vibrato and reverb.

These amps didn’t have a distortion effect built in however guitarists purposefully increased the gain to create certain distorted sounds.

Notable musicians to experiment with distortion were:

Willie Johnson of Howlin’ Wolf

Goree Carter

Joe Hill Louis

The Kings of Rhythm, Ike Turner – Song: Rocket 88 – Cut his speakers to make a distorted effect.

Guitar Slim

Chuck Berry

Guitar pedals:

1958 WEM COPICAT Super IC-300 – delay and echo

1958 The DeArmond 610 – Jimmy Page on Brenda Lee’s “Is It True”

1960s

1962 – The Ventures for their song “The 2000 Pound Bee”. One of the first to use a homemade distortion fuzz box.

1962 – The first transistorized guitar effect was the 1962 Maestro Fuzz Tone pedal. This was the first distortion based pedal available to the public – Famously used by Keith Richards, Rolling Stones’ Can’t Get No Satisfaction

1967 Warwick Electronics started selling the first wah-wah pedal. Kelsey-Morris Sound’s Jim Morris also made the first octave effect pedal in 1967 which was famously used by Jimi Hendrix.

1967 – Vox Cry Baby Wah-Wah – Used by Jimmy Hendrix “purple haze”

1967 – Honey Psychedelic Machine Vibra-Chorus

1968 Univox started selling the Uni-Vibe Pedal. A phase shift and chorus effects pedal used by both Jimi Hendrix and Robin Trower. Jimi Hendrix used it to record the guitar solos on “Purple Haze” and “Fire”